The National Congress of American Indians hosted a conference call and webinar this afternoon to discuss the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement.

The settlement includes $1.5 billion in payments to individual Indians. The first round payments -- $1,000 to cover historical accounting -- went out before Christmas and most beneficiaries have received their money, attorney David Smith said on the call.

Garden City Group was appointed by the court to administer the settlement. The historical class includes 328,000 members and 284,000 have received a check, chief operating officer Jennifer Keough said.

That leaves about 40,000 estate awards that are being held for further documentation. Finally, another 4,000 payments are being held for class members without addresses.

The second round of payments will cover the trust administration portion of the settlement. Smith said checks won't be distributed until late summer or early fall.

Related Stories:
DOI to participate in webinar for Cobell trust fund settlement (1/15)
Some Indian beneficiaries in Montana still waiting for check (1/14)
Cobell trust settlement expected to put $67M in North Dakota (1/10)
CFPB: Protecting your share of Cobell settlement from fraud (12/31)
Judge appoints special master to help with Cobell settlement (12/21)